Gentlemen of the Press, welcome to this Press Conference by the
National Leadership of the Labor Party. Let me first express our immense
gratitude to you my colleagues, gentlemen of the Press for always representing
us well in the media and for being a partner in this task of repositioning
Nigeria.
After the 2023 general election, the Labor Party was marked for total
annihilation by the system for daring to upstage the status quo of the
political class and up till today, the battle over the soul of the LP has
continued to intensify. However, with God being on our side, we have refused to
be strangulated in spite of all the subterfuge deployed by the perpetrators and
their agents.
It is no longer news that a few months ago, five members of the National
Working Committee of the party chose to be agents of disintegration and the
whole nation stood by us as we flushed them out. Smarting from that euphoria,
little did we know that the fumigation was far from complete until late last
year when signs emanate that our National Treasurer, Ms Oluchi Opara, a key
member of the executive turned to be a mole in the house and has continued
networking with the expelled members of the party leadership.
It may surprise you to know that the text of the Press conference by Ms Opara
was actually written for her since November 2023 by the camp of the dissident
former members, a copy she tendered in one of our December NWC meeting. The
leadership of the party made series of efforts to dissuade her from not pulling
down the roof of the home she has lived in for 10 years as the longest serving
Treasurer in history of political party in Nigeria.
Before I address her trumped up allegations, point by point, it would be
important to let the world know that when someone is compromised, albeit
pecuniary, and when you can't match the stake, nothing on earth can stop the
inevitable. Because the party was smarting out from a crisis and afraid of
further crisis, it pleaded with the Ms Opara to toe the path of honour not to
conflagrate the party and even made her some promises. But her insistence of a
brand new car, a duplex in the highbrow area in Abuja and a huge sum as her
price eventually truncated whatever pacification efforts.
Now, to some of her ridiculous allegations bordering on abuse of office and
misappropriation of party fund, Julius Abure took over the rein of the party in
2021 after the death of the former Chairman, Alhaji A. Abdulsalam in December
of 2020. A former Deputy National Chairman, Mrs Maria Lebeke emerged as the
acting National Chairman with of course Abure as the National Secretary. Ms
Opara alleged that Abure forged signature of the late chairman two months after
his death to withdraw huge sums of money but her memory was so short to remember
that Abure only emerged as the Chairman about four months after the demise of
the former Chairman. She also forgot in a hurry that she and the late chairman
exclusively operated the accounts of the party.
When Abure assumed office, it dawned on him as the Chief Accounting Officer of
the party to build a proper accounting method which never existed throughout
the eight years (as at 2022) of Ms. Opara's service as the Treasurer of the
party. Real reason she was made a Treasurer is a discussion for another day but
we dare her to present a single document of the party's financial records from
2014 to 2021. The problem this NWC has with her was the insistence that a
proper financial record be kept. The party has grown from portfolio party to a
dinosaur party it has become in the last one year and there arose a need to do
the proper thing.
She also alleged that the party amassed a whooping N3.5 billion naira from sale
of forms from the 2023 election. We wished that was true but the truth is that
the party realized only N1.2 billion only from not just sale of forms but also
from other sources including membership cards, donations amongst others. The
party through the campaign bodies and support groups realized another
N800.000.000, a fund solely managed by the Campaign Organization, not the
party.
The party accounts have been properly audited up till June 2023 and have since
been submitted and received by INEC. It may surprise you to know that not many
political parties have submitted their 2022 audited accounts. The allegation
that audited account was doctored is a matter of libel which we have taken
note. She will be made to give further clarification as how banks transactions
are falsified as auditors only work with evidences of transactions emanating
from statements from the banks.
The NWC as one its mandate to resolve any crisis in the party through its
internal mechanisms procedure, met on Friday (09-02-2024) last week and raised
a five man investigation committee to take a critical look at the allegations
that emanated from the National Treasurer with the mandate to within one month
resolve the impasse and make recommendation to the committee of the whole. The
National Treasurer and indeed all members of the NWC were present at the
meeting and endorsed the committee. It was indeed a rude shock that in total
disregard to the NWC position and troubleshooting efforts, that the National
Treasurer, three days after reneged on the understanding that all attacks and
diatribes cease for peace to rein.
The National Treasurer on Monday 12th of February, also disregarded a
constituted authority of the party by addressing a world press conference where
she disparaged the person of our national chairman and also brought the party
to opprobrium. Not satisfied with the public humiliation, the National
Treasurer on the following day appeared in ARISE television programme to
further disrepute the party and misinformed millions of viewing public on the
internal affairs of the party against the rules and regulations of the party.
Convinced that the National Treasurer is on a mission to stifle life out of our
very cherished party, an emergency NWC was summoned yesterday being February
13. Arising from the meeting, the NWC set up a disciplinary committee to try
the National Treasurer, Ms Oluchi Opara for bringing the party to disrepute.
At the meeting held Tuesday evening February 13, 2024 in Abuja, in exercise of
its powers as contained in the Party's Constitution with the intention of a
fair hearing, the NWC extended an invitation to the National Treasurer to
appear before it on Wednesday (Today) February 14, 2024 by 10am (12 hours) to
discuss the recent development. The party regrets that the National Treasurer
shunned the invitation by the disciplinary committee, to clear herself and her
actions.
We see this as an affront to the party leadership and millions of our members
who are watching on how their party's image which they have labored hard to
build is trolled by one ingrate. The disciplinary committee has however recommended
to the National Executive Council of the party through the National Working
Committee that Ms Oluchi Opara be suspended from the Labor Party for a minimum
of 6 months. This suspension is with immediate effect.
We sincerely regret this development. We however urge our teaming members to
understand that this is a price to pay for success. We will continue to reform
the party until we achieve the best, good enough to drive our New Nigeria
agenda.
SIGN
Obiora Ifoh
National Publicity Secretary
Labor Party
14-02-2024
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